We witnessed a setback for Israeli democracy Monday when the Knesset passed legislation intended to stigmatize progressive critics of the current government’s policies.

The bill did not pass easily. Strong criticism from some of Israel’s best friends around the world — including NIF supporters — pressured the government to drop some of the most outrageous provisions. And even then dozens of Knesset Members opposed to the bill spoke out on the floor of the Knesset for more than six hours, delaying the vote until after midnight Jerusalem time.

Learn more about this issue: Check out the statement we released in response to the bill, the backgrounder on what this bill does, and the Washington Post‘s excellent article.

Sadly, the current government will try to pass more laws to limit free speech and intimidate their critics. Next on the agenda is a bill to allow Knesset Members to be able to expel other Knesset Members — a move widely understood to be aimed at Arab Knesset Members.

Those of us who care about Israel and want it to live up to the values of equality and democracy have every reason to be concerned about what’s going on in the Knesset. I want you to know that NIF’s team in Jerusalem, and our allies, are constantly engaging with elected officials to minimize the damage done by these bills — and the watered down nature of the NGO Bill that passed this week is testament to their impact.

I also want us all to remember that Israel is a much richer and more dynamic place than the one represented by some of the headlines or in some of the Knesset debates. Whatever happens within the halls of that important building, there is an enormous constituency of Israelis that shares our commitment to equality and democracy and that wants to see an end to the occupation.

Many of these Israelis are constantly at work — organizing, educating, mobilizing — all for the purpose of building a better Israel. In the spirit of this work, I wanted to share with you this ad that ran in Israeli papers Tuesday.

Signed by 21 Israeli civil and human rights groups the ad reads: “Maybe we didn’t succeed in stopping the NGO bill. But the NGO bill won’t succeed in stopping us.”

It is this determination — that I see day-in and day-out amongst our Israeli colleagues and partners — that reminds me of the truth of Margaret Mead’s famous words: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

The partnership that is NIF — that fuses together those of us who care about Israel’s future with the smartest and most determined Israeli social change activists — is the path forward for a better Israel.

Thank you for your partnership with NIF and with the best that Israel has to offer.

&emdash; Daniel